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No it hasn't concentration of power has led to violence and revolution... at the very least to organized labor. Maybe it makes systems with certain structures f

No it hasn't concentration of power has led to violence and revolution... at the very least to organized labor. Maybe it makes systems with certain structures fragile, like a despot but we don't have systems like these are are inherently fragile. Delusional to think that things magically fix themselves. AI consolidates power and makes revolt even more difficult once it's realized as something completely automated. China might collapse under its own weight as it does not have robust systems and the West is looking to hurt its economy to further cause instability, but corporatism elsewhere continues to grow stronger.

_bxg1 8y ago
> revolution...organized labor Precisely. The masses have always been able to, eventually, usurp the few. The thing that's made democratic nations like the U.S. so successful is that they harness the power of the many. A diverse system is much more fault-tolerant than a centralized one. The minds and wills of a free populace, competing but also cooperating, have always been stronger than the minds of a minority which controls a populace. What's best for people has traditionally been aligned with what's effective, in this respect. Empires always fall. But, yes, AI could change that. We'll see how it plays out.
- meruru 8y ago
  It's not AI that's going to change that, it's mass surveillance and ubiquitous proprietary software. AI may contribute to it, but it's the fact that we've given away control over our life and our society that's the real issue.
  - _bxg1 8y ago
    People comprise more value than physical resources. People can innovate, adapt, create. Those that hold the value hold the power. Any situation where the minority is in control has always been temporary historically, because of this fundamental fact. It may take years, generations, or centuries, but things have always gravitated back towards balance. The only thing that could disrupt this is AI, because it could conceivably allow a single powerful person to have the equivalent of an army of perfect (cognitive) servants. Our minds have always been our most valuable and exclusive resource. If that status quo is disrupted, all bets are off. Of course nobody actually knows what AI will do to the world. Maybe it'll allow elites to do away with the rest of humanity. Maybe it'll take control of society for our own good. Maybe it'll never actually be able to duplicate our mental plasticity and there's nothing to worry about. Maybe global warming will end civilization before we reach the singularity. Who knows. I simply choose not to spend much time thinking that far ahead, because I'm not really in a position to do anything about it.
    - glitchc 8y ago
      It’s a nice screed, but history has shown, time and time again, that monarchs and empires are the most stable form of government.
- gabbygab 8y ago
  But the progress of our system has been to go from diverse to less diverse. Ever since 1776, we have become ever more centralized. We went from state rights to federal power. From many political parties to a persistent duopoly controlled by the same people. Also, the masses have never usurped the few. No time in human history has the masses overthrown anything. The proles are never a threat to the powerful. The few have always been usurped by the other few. The british in the US weren't overthrow by the masses. They were overthrown by the elite few. The same thing with the romanovs in russia. It was the well funded, highly educated and highly motivated portion of the elites who overthrew the romanovs. The masses rising up is a romantic myth. It isn't real. What makes the US so successful has nothing to do with democracy. It has everything to do with colonization, resource acquisition and centralized power. We conquered a continent and much of the world. We dominate the world's trade and currency. We are the greatest empire in human history. That's why we are successful. The same thing with european democracies. They still manage a large remnant of their former colonies via business and political domination. Even military domination such as libya, mali, middle east, etc. Heck, a bunch of african countries' central banks are directly controlled by the french.

_bxg1 8y ago

> revolution...organized labor Precisely. The masses have always been able to, eventually, usurp the few. The thing that's made democratic nations like the U.S. so successful is that they harness the power of the many. A diverse system is much more fault-tolerant than a centralized one. The minds and wills of a free populace, competing but also cooperating, have always been stronger than the minds of a minority which controls a populace. What's best for people has traditionally been aligned with what's effective, in this respect. Empires always fall. But, yes, AI could change that. We'll see how it plays out.

meruru 8y ago
It's not AI that's going to change that, it's mass surveillance and ubiquitous proprietary software. AI may contribute to it, but it's the fact that we've given away control over our life and our society that's the real issue.
- _bxg1 8y ago
  People comprise more value than physical resources. People can innovate, adapt, create. Those that hold the value hold the power. Any situation where the minority is in control has always been temporary historically, because of this fundamental fact. It may take years, generations, or centuries, but things have always gravitated back towards balance. The only thing that could disrupt this is AI, because it could conceivably allow a single powerful person to have the equivalent of an army of perfect (cognitive) servants. Our minds have always been our most valuable and exclusive resource. If that status quo is disrupted, all bets are off. Of course nobody actually knows what AI will do to the world. Maybe it'll allow elites to do away with the rest of humanity. Maybe it'll take control of society for our own good. Maybe it'll never actually be able to duplicate our mental plasticity and there's nothing to worry about. Maybe global warming will end civilization before we reach the singularity. Who knows. I simply choose not to spend much time thinking that far ahead, because I'm not really in a position to do anything about it.
  - glitchc 8y ago
    It’s a nice screed, but history has shown, time and time again, that monarchs and empires are the most stable form of government.
gabbygab 8y ago
But the progress of our system has been to go from diverse to less diverse. Ever since 1776, we have become ever more centralized. We went from state rights to federal power. From many political parties to a persistent duopoly controlled by the same people. Also, the masses have never usurped the few. No time in human history has the masses overthrown anything. The proles are never a threat to the powerful. The few have always been usurped by the other few. The british in the US weren't overthrow by the masses. They were overthrown by the elite few. The same thing with the romanovs in russia. It was the well funded, highly educated and highly motivated portion of the elites who overthrew the romanovs. The masses rising up is a romantic myth. It isn't real. What makes the US so successful has nothing to do with democracy. It has everything to do with colonization, resource acquisition and centralized power. We conquered a continent and much of the world. We dominate the world's trade and currency. We are the greatest empire in human history. That's why we are successful. The same thing with european democracies. They still manage a large remnant of their former colonies via business and political domination. Even military domination such as libya, mali, middle east, etc. Heck, a bunch of african countries' central banks are directly controlled by the french.